The Canadian Slopestyle Queen Announces her Retirement

Kaya Turski made her mark in the history of women’s slopestyle skiing in Canada and internationally. Earlier this week she the page on a prolific career that took her to the highest snow-covered peaks of our planet. Eight-time X Games gold medallist, FIS slopestyle World Champion in 2013 and five-time world champion on the AFP circuit, the Montreal-born athlete is one of the most decorated skier in the history of her sport.

A pioneer in her sport, Kaya Turski was the first woman to complete a switch 1080 in a slopestyle competition. And yet she got into freestyle skiing at the age of 17 virtually by chance. An avid inline skater as a teen, Turski spent a lot of time at Montreal skateparks before a lucky coincidence led her to the ski slopes. Her previous training had taught her the rudiments of aerial orientation, balance and the know-how to accomplish fluid manoeuvres on the slopestyle ramps. With these basic notions and a fierce determination to learn slopestyle skiing, she climbed the ranks to become one of the world’s best.

“I always had an insatiable hunger for challenge, and sport gave me the opportunity to pursue things I had only ever dreamed of,” said Turski. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by incredible athletes who had a strong sense of purpose, which really pushed me to dive deep into mine.”

Turski dominated the slopestyle competition circuit for most of her career, managing to deal with numerous injuries in pursuit of her passion. “Kaya was a huge inspiration. To see how she overcame adversity to reach the podium taught me, as a coach, that it’s not over until it’s over and that ‘I can’t’ is not an option,” said Toben Sutherland, slopestyle head coach for Freestyle Canada.

“Kaya’s impressive athletic achievements and thirst for progression over the last 10 years has led to a new standard in women’s freeskiing for Canada and internationally”, said David Mirota, Vice-president of Sport at Freestyle Canada.

Just ahead of the Olympic Games in PyeongChang, mainly for health reasons and in order to preserve herself for future endeavours, Kaya felt that the time was right to turn the page. She has no regrets.

“I’ll never forget the rush in the start gate, ready to give it my all” Turski said. “I’ll certainly miss the freedom the sport allowed me, and my ski family, with whom I forged such strong bonds in pursuit of our common goals. But I’ve lived my dream, and learned invaluable lessons throughout it. What else could I ask for? The beauty is now I get to sculpt and pursue a whole new one”.

More on Kaya Turski

You can read Kaya Turski’s "Point of View" on her career in sport and her retirement HERE.

Her one on one interview with CBC’s Kelly Vanderbeek is available HERE.